Rob Kearney leaned back against the wall and waited for 10 minutes as a Benetton Treviso player was peppered with questions for 10 minutes. This was not usual but he was happy to wait.
Ian McKinley’s rugby journey has been far from usual. He was 19 when he made his Leinster debut, 21 when he scored his first try and 21 when he lost sight in his left eye.
Now aged 26, McKinley returned to the ground he always dreamt of playing at. That he was in a Treviso jersey and wearing protective rugby goggles mattered naught.
The reception he got was loud, long and heartening. The first professional rugby player to wear protective goggles entered the fray. More importantly, though, he was a son of Leinster.
“When I heard that reception it was hard to concentrate!”@ianmck7 on his return to the #RDSArena. #LEIvBEN pic.twitter.com/xAjRyH7nYV
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) September 3, 2016
McKinley began his road back in the lower rungs of Italian rugby. When he says there was often one man and his dog in the crowd for some games, he’s not lying.
His game improved, as did the goggles and he eventually got a chance with Zebre. He was refused permission to play in Ireland last season, due to now-altered rugby regulations here, but it was fitting that the RDS was the stage for his return. McKinley said:
“Everyone was here. My fianceé, my brothers and sisters, my mum and dad. My closest friends. They’ve been with me from the early days from when I had to stop playing, pushing through with this campaign to play with the goggles, at lower league games with a man, a dog and the rain. I owe an awful lot to them.”
Interestingly, due to his time spent in Italy, McKinley will be eligible to play for the Azzurri from January 2017. He modestly dismisses the suggestion and says he is purely focused on gaining more PRO12 experience.
Then it was Kearney’s turn. The pair, who first played together for Leinster in 2009, shook hands before the Leinster fullback took his seat. He said:
“It’s a brilliant story and one we have all followed with a huge amount of interest and a fair bit of pride as well, given where he has come from. It’s a great story and he deserved the big cheer he got. The loudest cheer of the night.
“He is going to continue to progress and that’s the good thing. There is a huge amount more in him and he is going to do even better.”Â
The post-match plan for McKinley included catching up with all those people that supported him on his road back to pro rugby. “There might be a few Cokes,” he joked.
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